


Smoke In The Air

by aristars



Series: Six Feet Under (Our Love Is Buried) [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Eventual Happy Ending, M/M, Multiple Universes, repeated deaths
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-12
Updated: 2017-08-10
Packaged: 2018-12-01 00:36:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11474916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aristars/pseuds/aristars
Summary: Soulmates are said to be destined to be together. But what happens when you lose your chance at love? Well, the Universe has her ways.





	1. First Life

**Author's Note:**

> Just a heads up this is still somewhat in draft mode. After I finish writing the other chapters I'll go back and edit everything, but I figured I might as well go ahead and publish it.
> 
> Also constructive criticism is welcome, I'm not much of a writer and I would love to improve.

 

“Blow away

Like smoke in air

How can you die so carelessly”

 

\- Billie Eilish “Six Feet Under”

  
  
  


     The cold floor of the training room had actually begun to feel nice on Lance’s exposed skin. He was even considering staying there awhile and taking a nice nap when his sparring partner began to lose his patience. 

 

“C’mon Lance, get up, we’re not finished.”

 

     Keith’s voice was grating on his ears and Lance moaned. Hand to hand combat was not his thing. Especially on a day when his sparring partner had proved to be- well, distracting. Lance thought he’d gotten pretty good at pushing down his emotions, hell, he had a lot of practice. However, Keith was testing his limits. Testing him with those stupid dark eyes and that stupid mullet that actually looked like it would be soft if he ran his fingers through it. Not to mention his skin, every touch from Keith had lit him on fire. And Keith’s recent growth spurt led to his shirt  riding up on his stomach way more than what could be considered good for Lance’s health. 

 

“Do we really have to do this Keith?” Lance groaned from his spot on the floor.

 

“Yes! Your long range combat skills are great but you need to improve your hand to hand combat skills.  What if you got caught in a situation where you couldn’t use your rifle?”

 

“Oh I wouldn’t worry, I know you would protect me babe.”

 

    Keith just rolled his eyes at Lance’s attempt at flirting. Lance never thought of it much, he did it with so many people all the time. With Keith however, it felt like he was walking a strange line between joking and actually being serious. 

    Lance got up from his spot on the floor and took the stance Keith had taught him; arms up, knees bent, balance centered. And after one attempted him and a little bit of retaliation from Keith he ended up on the floor, again. 

 

“Ya’ know I think I’m starting to like the floor, maybe I’ll just take a nap.”

 

“No Lance, we got to keep going. Your attacks are weak and too predictable, you need more practice.”

 

“Nah, I think I’m good. If I get caught without my bayard just let me die out there, “ Lance joked.

 

     Keith, however, did not find his joke funny. His face soured at the thought but he shook it off. These kind of jokes had become common for Lance. For whatever reason he found it funny to joke about him dying or how he wasn’t needed. It was bullshit obviously. He was the blue paladin, of course they needed him! Lance either didn’t see that or he just thought those kind of jokes were funny. They bothered Keith though. He’d already lost too many people, he wasn’t about to lose Lance. And for him to insult himself hurt too. Keith wanted to reach out whenever he joked like that; he wanted to comfort and assure Lance that he was important and that they couldn’t afford to lose him. Instead he just grew angry.

 

    “This isn’t funny Lance, “ he said, his tone turning sharp, “I don’t know if this whole thing is a joke to you, but lives are at stake here. If Voltron fails the whole universe could be in danger. People are relying on us. Zarkon won’t stop conquering planets, destroying lives, until he’s stopped.”

 

    Lance stayed quiet for a second before he sat himself up, “You think I don’t know that?” He stood up and any humor in his face was gone. As he approached Keith he was reminded of the height he still had on him, sure Keith had grown, but so had Lance.

 

    “You think I don’t realize what’s at stake here? Every day I’m terrified that the Galra have already found Earth. My family… they could be dead and I wouldn’t know. It terrfies me Keith, so don’t think for a second that I don’t take this seriously. I’m just as determined as any of us to stop Zarkon, and I’m not ready to die out in space yet. I actually have a family to get back to, unlike some of us.”

 

    The last part took Keith back a bit. Him being an orphan wasn’t a secret, everyone had found out at some point, but they also knew it wasn’t something to tease or joke about.  Regret flashed on Lance’s face for a second, but his anger overtook it in a second and he turned to walk away. Keith reached out and grabbed his shoulder, turning him around. Anger thrummed through his body like electricity, driving him farther. But before he could say anything that he would regret Lance beat him to it.

 

“I know you hate me or whatever, but can you back off for a second, god! You know I’m sorry I said that it was way out of line but-”

 

“What?” Keith called out incredulously. 

 

     Keith was confused, sure he and Lance had their little “rivalry” or whatever. But it wasn’t anything serious. In fact it had become somewhat like a joke between, or at least he thought it had. Lance had actually grown on him, and while Keith hated to admit it he liked Lance, maybe a little more than he should. 

 

“Lance, I- I don’t hate you-”

 

    Wherever Keith was going with that was interrupted by the alarms blaring through the castle and Alluras voice over the intercom. Zarkon was attacking. Lance stared at Keith for a second, questioning, wondering… before he shook himself out of it and headed towards his lion’s bay as fast as he could. 

  
  


…

  
  


     Adrenaline surged through Keith’s veins as he gripped the controls at the helm of his lion. The largest Galran fleet he had ever seen at once lay out before him. Everyone had made it out and to their lions. They were firing at the ships, holding nothing back, but before they new it they were surrounded. A blast from the main ship was headed towards Lance, and without hesitation Keith sped forward knocking him out of the way. Red was fast, but her armor wasn’t the strongest. The blast shook Keith and for a second he was out and disoriented. He heard his teammates calling his name as they tried to hold off the fleet. They needed Voltron…

 

“Keith!” 

 

Lance called out for him, the emotion in his voice surprising him. 

 

“Keith, are you alright?” It was Shiro.

 

“Yeah, yeah I’m good. We won’t last much longer like this though, we need Voltron.”

 

“We can’t form Voltron when we’re surrounded like this!” Pidge pointed out.

 

“Allura?” Shiro asked desperately.

 

“On it!” 

     And like that the castle came alive and began aiming at where the majority of the fleet was placed. Keith turned around and began tearing through the ships on the other side. Suddenly the other ships began to explode and crumble in on themselves. Keith is left in awe and confusions until the green lion slowly revealed herself.

 

“Pidge! Thank you,” Keith exclaimed.

 

“No Problem!”

 

     With the ships surrounding them destroyed and the rest of the fleet occupied Shiro shouted for them to form Voltron. They took off in formation, syncing their movements and minds. Forming Voltron was the most exhilarating thing Keith had ever experienced. Being so open and connected with the others was new and frightening, but he welcomed it. Once they were Voltron Keith felt unstoppable, but this fleet was larger than anything else they faced. Allura could only hold them off for so long. Voltron sprung forward and the sword appeared in Red’s grasp. They tore through ship after ship, blasting through Zarkon’s forces. The castle flew behind them firing at ships out of Voltron’s peripheral.

 

“There’s too many of them! We can’t keep this up!”

 

    Hunk was right, they were doing fine but the forces had no end in sight and with each hit Keith could feel Voltron almost crumbling underneath him. 

 

“Don’t talk like that Hunk, we can do this!”

 

    Keith barely even believed his own words but they didn’t have another choice. They had to continue to fight, they couldn’t give up and run away. Keith’s anxieties were running through his brain when a huge ship came out of nowhere in front of him.

 

“Zarkon,” Lance practically growled his name.

 

    The ship was enormous and there was no doubt that it was Zarkon’s ship. With their sword raised Voltron flew, ready for the fight. They weren’t fast enough, and like a flash dark magic flew from the ship.  _ Haggar.  _ Keith thought.The bolts of energy surged through Voltron. And like a thousand bolts of electricity the pain knocked Keith out.

 

“Paladins!”

 

    Lance could hear Allura and Coran screaming for them through the comms. He could tell Voltron had fallen apart and the castle had taken over and was firing at the fleet. His head throbbed and the yelling wasn’t helping.

 

“Could you keep it down, my head hurts!” He moaned. 

“Lance!” Coran exclaimed, “Are you alright?”

 

“Uh,” Lance did a quick body check, “I think so? My head is throbbing but otherwise I’m ok.”

 

“Good, is everyone else alright?”

 

“Define good?” Hunk asked.

 

“I mean we’re not dead,” Pidge snarked. 

 

“I think we’re all alright, I don’t think we can defeat this fleet thought,” Shiro said. 

 

“Don’t worry about that, I’m wormholing us out of here. Get back to your bays!” Allura commanded. 

 

“Wait Keith! Keith, buddy, are you alright?” 

 

    Lance suddenly noticed the red paladin's silence. He looked around and spotted the red lion off to his right. A moan came through the comms and Lance felt some momentary relief. He was alive.

 

“Don’t worry I got you.”

 

     He zoomed forward dodging the blasts from the ships as he went to grab Keith’s lion. Allura momentarily let down the castle's defenses so the lions could get through. And the minute they landed in their bays they were being blasted through a wormhole. 

  
  


…

 

    Lance rushed out of Blue (after checking that she was okay of course), and ran to Red. She lay on her stomach and as Lance approached her eyes lit up. He worried for a second that she would reject him to protect her paladin inside. However, as soon he was close she opened up. Fear gripped his gut as he entered and he ripped off his helmet. Keith hadn’t responded to any of them other than that moan. He didn’t know what to expect, but as he approached the helm he saw Keith slumped over besides his seat. 

 

“Keith!”

 

    He ran over to him lifting his head up and taking off his helmet. His eyes were closed and Lance slightly shook him.

“Lance? What-”

 

Before he could finish Lance pulled him into a hug. Keith stayed still, shocked and confused, before he wrapped his arms around him.

 

“Hey, I’m alright. That blast just knocked me out for second,” he said, and Lance pulled back.

 

“I know, I know. It’s okay, it’s okay,” Lance repeated, more to himself than anything else. 

 

“Just... god! Don’t do that to me, you scared me!” Lance yelled as he let go of Keith and stood up.

 

“Hey, it was just payback,” he shrugged and stood up.

 

“Payback for what?” Lance asked incredulously.

 

“For forgetting our bonding moment, “ he said with a smirk and started to walk away.

 

“Hey- what! No fair! That wasn’t my fault.”

 

“Eh, maybe not, but I guess we have a new moment to remember.”

 

“Oh I see how it is. You almost get yourself killed just so I would cradle you in my arms.”

 

    Keith continued to walk away but Lance reached for his hand and he didn’t pull away. Instead he turned around and stared into Lance’s eyes. If Lance had something to say he had forgotten it. He was caught up in Keith’s grey eyes and the look in them was so bright and happy. Ironic, given what they went through. But suddenly he didn’t feel like his rival anymore, he felt like they were friends. Friends who could joke around, maybe even flirt a little. At least that’s what it felt like.

 

“Lance…”   
  


    He suddenly realized how close Keith was, as he looked up at him through his dark bangs. Besides sparring, or when their fights got really heated, he’d never been this close. In fact it would so easy to just lean in and kiss that stupid smile off Keith’s face. But he couldn’t. They were barely even friends. Keith was  just now getting to the point where he tolerated Lance. Kissing him was out of the question.

 

“We should get back to the others, they’re probably worried about you,” Lance said, breaking the silence. 

 

    “Uh yeah,” Keith responded, removing his hand from Lance’s and rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. He watched as Lance walked away, helmet in hand. God, he needed to stop this. Lance was most certainly the straightest boy he’d ever met. He made it obvious with every hot alien girl he flirted with. Even while Lance had stood so close to him and stared into his eyes. Stared like he could see the stars in them. Hell, he even inched his head forward like he might just kiss him. Maybe… but no. Keith was most likely being delusional. Lance was just worried about him because of the fight. He was worried because they’re teammates, barely even friends. He sighed and followed Lance out of his lion. 

  
  


…

 

    Keith still had a headache and Lance wasn’t making it any better. Coran had suggested that he might benefit from a day in the healing pods. Of course everyone could, however, Keith had blacked out longer than anyone else. He had insisted that he was fine, besides Allura had a mission for them. But now, as he sat in the cockpit of red with Lance behind him, rambling on nervously, he wished he had taken him up on that offer. Or at least gotten some space ibuprofen or something, because Lance was killing him right now.

 

    “I mean I know we’ve done stuff like this before but like Allura said, this  place is heavily guarded. And usually it's not just me and you, and what if they spot Red? I mean I know she's small, but she's still a huge space cat sitting out in-”

 

    “Lance, breath. It’ll be okay,” Keith tried to be comforting, but honestly he didn’t understand why Lance was so worked up this time. They’ve done stuff like this before. All they had to do was sneak into the base into the main control room, connect the device Pidge gave them and download the information. They had gotten a lead that there was a rebellion group out there that had been giving the Galra trouble for ages. This base was dedicated to fighting them and would most likely have information pertaining to an estimate on their location. Or at least they hoped. 

 

    “Look it’ll be fine, we got this. Also Red is small and fast enough that she can drop us off around the back, in the ship’s blind spot, and get away fast enough without being spotted. And with this device Pidge can hack into the ship’s cameras to help us out. It’s all covered.”

 

“I know, it’s just-” Lance sighed.

 

     He didn’t know why his anxiety had him worked up like this. They’ve done more dangerous stuff before, this wasn’t a big deal. And if they got the information they were looking for then they would have a struck a gold mine. But that didn’t stop the negative energy that was pulsing through Lance’s veins. He couldn’t shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen. Lance also realized that he was worried for Keith. That dude had an impulsive streak that often put him in unnecessary danger. He took a deep breath. He had to give Keith more credit than that, he was a little reckless but he had a 100% survival rate so far. That had to count for something.

 

“Ok, we’re here.”

 

     Lance looked up to see the base. It was huge, which meant Red wouldn’t stand out and could easily hide, but it also meant it might take longer to get to the control room, which meant more sentries and- Lance stopped himself. He needed to focus and this way of thinking wasn’t helping him at all. 

     Red snuck up around back and opened her mouth. With their helmets on and jet packs ready they headed for their designated entrance. Once out, Red darted away in flash, not to be seen, and suddenly they were alone. Keith took the device Pidge had given them and stuck it to the door. 

 

“Okay Pidge, we’re ready.”

 

    “Roger that, just give me a second and… okay done,” and with that the door opened and they snuck inside. Pidge now had access to the cameras and begin spouting directions. Lance had his bayard ready out and ready, placed up on shoulder, ready to fire. Keith lead the way with his sword ready. There weren’t many sentries, yet. They were in the storage unit, but they had to work their way up the top floor.

    They went through several corridors before Pidge announced that their were guards up ahead. Keith and Lance didn’t fall back. They charged forward. Keith had his sword out and went swinging while Lance held back and fired at the sentries. There weren’t many of them in within minutes that were all collapsed on the floor. Keith looked up at him and gave him an exhilarating smile that caused his heart to beat out of his chest.

At one point Pidge announced that they were coming up on an elevator that would lead them straight to the control center. It, however, was heavily guarded. Of course. 

 

“You ready?” Keith looked back at him with a wicked smirk on his face.

 

“Let’s give ‘em hell, babe,” Keith rolled his eyes at the “babe” but didn’t comment and with that they charged around the corner. 

 

     In such tight corridors Lance’s rifle wasn’t of much use after the first few shots. He instead resorted to using it the swing at the sentries and shove them off him. Keith gave him a surprised grin and next thing they know they’re fighting back to back. They swung at the sentries and dodge them, blocking shots for each other. Lance was right, they did make a good team. As the number of sentries dwindled they started back towards the elevator. Keith hit the button and Lance fired as he waited for the doors to open. The minute they did Lance fired at the last sentry and then Keith was pulling him by his collar and dragging him into the elevator. As the door closed they both shrunk against the wall. 

 

    “Holy Hell,” Lance let out, trying to catch his breath. It was immediately drawn out of him because the next thing he knows Keith is grabbing his face and kissing him. Holy quizknack, Keith was kissing him. Keith, his Keith, the guy he’d been pining hopelessly over for months was kissing him. And all Lance could do was sit there, shell shocked. Keith drew back and guilt was immediately drawn across his face. 

 

“Oh shit, sorry, sorry, I shouldn’t have done that I-” Keith rambled on. 

    Lance however, was still sitting there, with his mouth hanging slightly open, dumbfounded. Keith was still rambling on and honestly it was starting to annoy Lance a little. So with a sly smile on his face he leaned in to shut him up. Now was Keith’s turn to be surprised. But as Lance grabbed his hip to pull him closer he began to melt into the kiss and next thing he knows they're both smiling and laughing. Honestly Lance could stay like that forever, slumped on the ground in Keith’s arms. But next thing they know the doors are opening and they break apart. Luckily there are no sentries in immediate sight, if there would have been Pidge would have warned them. Pidge, who is being oddly silent at the moment. Oh god, Lance had forgotten she was listening in, but he had no time to drown in embarrassment. They had reached what was obviously the control center. Lance crouched down as they stayed hidden in alcove so they could scope their surroundings. It was a large room with a walkway that led out to a platform. There were sentries everywhere though, and two Galra dudes on the platform. They needed a plan, Lance however was having a hard time focusing given that Keith was next to him still breathing heavily from their kiss. Oh god, their kiss. That was a thing now, Keith actually liked him, shit.  _ Okay, okay, now is not the time, Lance.   _ He scolded himself, he needed to start to formulate a plan.

 

“Shit, what are we gonna-”

 

“I got this,” Lance said with a sudden confidence. He had a plan, well kinda. 

 

“What?”   
  


“Just trust me and stay hidden,” he said as he pushed him back into a crevice. 

 

    Keith didn’t object anymore, and crouched down. Besides Lance was the one with the better plans. Keith on the other hand would have just suggested fighting their way through. What Lance did however, surprised him. He walked right out in the open, with his bayard ready, and from the top of his lungs hollered, “Hey look! It’s the blue paladin!”

 

    And in the moment Keith had never wanted to kick Lance’s ass more. Automatically everyone's eyes were on Lance and he fired a few shots. He hit both of the Galra men in the chest before he turned around and dashed out of there. In a flash every sentry rushed after him, oblivious to Keith hiding. Out of sight he heard Lance holler, “Come get me you bastards,” before he fired more shots and ran down the hallway adjacent to the elevator. All of the sentries began to chase after him and once there were only a few left Keith came out, sword swinging as he took them down.  _ God Lance, I hope you know what you’re doing _ , he thought before he sprinted towards the platform.

 

“Okay Pidge, I’m here, what do I need to do?”

 

“You? Where’s Lance?”

 

“Uh, he’s taking care of something right now,” he replied cautiously.

  
“Oh god, I don’t even want to know. Okay, you got that device I gave you right? Connect it to the main dashboard and I should be able to begin downloading.”

 

    Keith did as he was told and once he was done he Pidge’s icon popped up with a loading bar. The next few minutes went by agonizingly slow. He needed to get back to Lance, wherever the hell he went, and Pidges download was taking way too long for his taste. Keith was itching to get out of there as the bar reach 99%. He didn’t like being out there in the open, where in any minute a sentry could come out and shoot him. The second it was done Keith grabbed the device and booked it out of there. 

 

“Pidge? Where’s Lance?”

 

“He’s already headed towards the escape pod I had mapped out for you. There’s still some more sentries on his tail and it looks like he has some he’s coming up on.”

 

“Dear god, I swear he’s gonna get himself killed.”

 

“He’ll be okay Keith, right now we need to focus on getting you to the pod.”

 

    And with that she began spewing directions. He came across a few sentries that he easily tore his way through. However, it didn’t look like there were many other Galra here. Before he knew it Pidge announced that the pod was up on his left. And just as she did he heard his name being called out from behind him. He turned to see Lance being chased by a hoard of sentries. He had given up on firing at them and they were gaining on him.

 

“Keith run!”

 

    Keith didn’t have to be told twice. He reached the pod, feeling Lance coming up beside him on his left. He ran in and slammed the door shut. The pod immediately begin its countdown to takeoff. He slumped against the wall and looked beside him when he realized, Lance wasn’t there. He looked around petrified when he saw him, on the other side of the door. The sentries had caught up to him and held him down. He was fighting against them but it was no use, there were too many of them. 

 

“No! Lance!” 

 

    He banged on the door, but it was no use, the doors were sealed for take off. His screams caught Lance’s attention and he looked up and met Keith’s gaze. In that moment he’d never seen such fear in Lance’s eyes and his heart broke as he heard the countdown reach zero and the pod was ejected into space. 

  
  


…

 

“Sir, a pod has been ejected. But our sentries report that the blue paladin is still on the ship.”

 

“How interesting, he left his little friend behind,” Commander Zathir said.

 

“What do you suggest we do?”

 

“Fire off our detonators in that corridor.”

 

“But sir, our sentries will all be destroyed, and the damage will take weeks to repair.”

 

“That doesn’t matter, I’m not letting that blue one escape, fire now.”

 

“As you wish sir.”

  
  


…

 

     Keith continued to pound on the doors uselessly. No, no, he promised himself he wouldn’t lose Lance. Who knows what the Galra will do to him now. No, they had to get him back, they had to. He was the blue paladin they couldn’t lose him. He looked up and off in the distance behind the doors Keith could see Lance’s face as the they pressed him up against them, restraining him. And that is when the bombs went off. 

     The explosion lit up Keith’s vision and he felt a scream being ripped from his body. But he couldn’t hear it; all had gone silent as he watched the side of the ship crumble and fall away.  _ Lance…  _ Keith felt himself hit the floor. He waited for the tears to come, but there was nothing, he felt absolutely nothing. Slowly he began to hear voices coming through his comm. 

“Keith! Keith what’s going on?”

 

     It was Shiro. He wanted to respond, to tell them what happened. But he couldn’t find his voice. How could he even begin to explain what he just saw. How could he explain how his world had started to crumble around him just like that ship.  _ This isn’t real, this isn’t real.  _ Lance was fine, he had to be. He thought of his smile; the shy one he gave him after they kissed or that obnoxious grin when he felt proud of himself. Lance _ had _ to be fine, hell he was probably back on the ship waiting for him. There is no way that someone as bright and vibrant as Lance was gone, lost to the void of space. But he was, Keith saw it with his own two eyes. 

 

“He-he’s gone.”

 

“What? Keith where’s Lance?”

 

“He didn’t make it… I left him behind,” as he said it he realized it was true. He should’ve checked, should’ve waited a second before he shut those damn doors. 

 

“He’s gone.”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. Let The Rains Wash Over Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An epilogue to Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah look, more angst.  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPG2ZKJTlKY

“Our love is six feet under

I can’t help but wonder

If our graves were watered by the rain”

 

    The blue lion landed near the top of the hill. The bright sun illuminated the wear and tear that had begun to show on her armor. After thirty years of fighting the galra she no longer looked shiny and new. Allura, her pilot, landed her gracefully and blue opened her mouth. Out stepped the paladins of Voltron, who also showed the years of fighting and war on their skin.

    The July sun had begun to sink in the sky and reflected beautifully off of the ocean. Keith took the lead, stepping from out behind the others, leading the way. In the distance sat an old house that overlooked the beach. No one appeared to be home, though Keith knew that Mr. and Mrs. McClain still lived there, even now that all their children had grown up and moved out. Keith had met them multiple times, and while they had always been nice to him, he couldn’t help but feel such deep sorrow and guilt whenever he was around them. It’s not like anyone blamed him for what happened, but that didn’t stop the guilt from corroding his stomach. He had been there, he was suppose to have had Lances back, he should have done something… anything…

    Keith let out a deep breath. That was seventeen years ago, and there was nothing that could be done now. He felt Shiro's prosthetic land on his shoulder, it was no longer the Galra arm, but a new simpler prosthetic that he’d gotten when they finally left the battlefield behind. Keith turned and was met with an encouraging smile. Yet his eyes were still filled with sorrow. Keith tried to summon a smile, but all he managed was a small nod before he walked forward.

    He approached the small headstone, currently surrounded by fresh flowers. Of course, his family must have brought them on his birthday. The Paladins had missed it, dealing with the signing of a treaty on Planet Taibezal. They had been fighting a civil war for years and team Voltron had finally stepped in with the hope of bringing peace to the planet. While there was no more war ravaging the Universe, the paladins were still at work. They had originally planned to come to Earth a few days ago but the terms for the treaty had taken longer to negotiate than planned.

    Keith kneeled in front of the gravestone, the others kept their distance, giving him his space. He placed the flowers he had gotten from Taibezal next to the others.

 

“Happy Birthday Lance,” his voice came out more choked than he expected and he struggled to pull himself together.

 

    “I hope you like these. They’re called Zinnias, they come in an abundance of shades, but I figured you’d like blue the most. You should’ve seen the fields on Taibezal. They were beautiful, and the ocean, man, you would’ve loved it. It was so clear and the sunsets made the water look pink. I remember how much you missed the ocean. I’m sorry you never got to see it again...”

   “We all miss you ya’ know. You’re family too. They never gave up on you. Your mom especially, she never believed the Garrisons report that you’d died. I just wish I could’ve… god, I wish I could’ve done something. It’s not fair. You deserved better Lance.”

   “But, maybe it was for the best. You know war isn’t kind, even to those who survive. The things I’ve seen, the things the others have gone through. I can’t bring myself to wish that on you. But god, you would’ve made it easier. Things only got worse after you… after that mission. We almost fell apart. We couldn’t even form Voltron, it took almost a year for Blue to finally open up to Allura. I think she couldn’t trust herself anymore, her duty was to protect you and she couldn’t. We both failed you Lance. I’m sorry.”

 

   Keith didn’t realize when his eyes had started to fill with tears and his shoulders began to shake. He felt somebody embrace him from behind. Pidge buried her nose in his shoulder and Keith closed his eyes, enjoying her silent comfort.

 

“Sorry we missed your birthday Lance,” Hunk spoke as he sat down on his left. The others all gathered around as well.

 

    “We had important Voltron business to attend to. You know how it is. I see your family brought you flowers though, so at least you weren’t completely alone. You never liked being alone, you were always there to keep somebody company when you were bored.”

 

“Yeah, you were a real pain in my ass Lance,” Pidge joked, but her attempt at being snarky was ruined as she choked back her tears and her eyes glazed over in sorrow.

 

    “You were good at making sure no one else was ever alone though. When I was searching for Matt and my father I felt so alone. I worried I would never find my family. You created a new family though, you brought us all together when we felt like we were being crushed by the weight of the universe. We needed you Lance, to keep our spirits up, even when your jokes were kind of corny. It helped, I don’t know if you ever realized that, but it really did.”

 

Everyone fell into a silent agreement. Lance had been their jokester, their sharpshooter, their friend. And they’d lost him too soon.

 

   “Blue misses you,” Allura spoke, “It took her forever to truly accept me as her paladin. I don’t think she could get over the fact that she lost you so soon. You were a great paladin of Voltron, and may you always be remembered as a defender of the Universe.”

 

    After the mission, news of Lance’s death spread through the universe. People grieved the loss of the paladin and the loss of Voltron. Even now, as they continue to travel the universe, they find memorials and statues honoring not only Voltron, but the lost blue paladin himself.

 

    “We lost our sharpshooter too soon,” Shiro reminisced,  “And for that I’m sorry. I promised myself that I wouldn’t fail my team again, not after the Kerberos mission. You were my responsibility Lance, and god, you were so young, too young to be fighting a war.”

 

“We were all too young,” Keith murmured.

 

    Keith thought of Pidge, only fifteen at the time, losing her father and brother and then being caught in the middle of a galactic war. He remembered the time he yelled at her for trying to leave Voltron behind to find them. That wasn’t fair of him, but at the time saving the Universe was all that mattered to him. They were all too caught up in the war to realise that they were too young to have to face death at all.

    Water droplets began to join the tears on his face. He looked up just as the skies opened up and water rained down.

    Keith closed his eyes, wondering if Lance could hear them. He didn't know if he believed in spirits or any kind of afterlife, but after everything he's seen, anything could be possible.

    _Lance... If you're listening, I- I love you... I'm sorry I never told you. I mean we really didn't have much time with the war going on but- I'm sorry anyway. I wish we had more time together, I wish that you didn't have to leave me so soon. Even if it meant that you had to go through the same horrors the rest of us did. At least it would mean that we wouldn't have had to go through it alone._

_I don't know if there's other lives beyond this, but Lance, if there are, I pray that I meet you in every single one of them. I pray that you get a second chance at a better life. You didn't deserve to be dragged into that war. None of us did. I guess I just wish we could have a chance- that you could have a chance at a better life. I miss you Lance._

    Keith was pulled out of his thoughts as the winds picked up around them, blowing his hair into his face.

 

    “I can see why you missed this Lance, it’s beautiful,” Coran said as he looked out over the ocean. The waves were surging as the wind picked up and they crashed harshly against the shore. The rain poured down around them, creating puddles in the grass.

 

    The sky and the sea were mourning their savoir.

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, sorry this update took so long, and it's so short. This scene wasn't something I originally intended on writing. It wasn't in my outline at all. However, as I was listening to the playlist I have for this fic I was really inspired by a specific song (linked at the top) to write a short scene where the Paladins are older and are visiting Lance's grave. I was really struggling with the next chapter so I figured writing something was better than writing nothing at all. I plan to have the next chapter up before the end of August, however, I'm a slow writer so bare with me. Also I promise there'll be some more fluff in the next chapter... this fic isn't all angst I swear.  
> Also for reference, in the first chapter the Paladins had been in space for three years. And then basing that off of the canon ages that we just got Keith was 21, Lance and Hunk 20, Pidge 18, and Shiro 28. So now it's seventeen years later and they're all in their late thirties/fourties.


End file.
